Chapter Five
-----
" You have GOT to be kidding me!" Celia huffed, as she stomped up and down the deck. " We can't let her escape, Captian, their must be some way..."
" I'm worried about other things." Lao said, staring out at the water, since Yumi jumped off, the boat had already docked at Fairing, they didn't know where she was, or if she was even alive. Their was no way she could have survived a fall like that, not to mention that fractured arm. A pity, really. She shouldn't have acted so reckless.
" May I ask what, sir?"
Lao turned around and leaned against one of the guard railings. " She told you she was going to Prince Zuko, right?" Celia nodded slowly.
" Yes, but what could a banished prince do to benefit someone like her?" She asked, she was obviously confused and didn't know where Lao was going with this. Lao sighed.
" That's what I'd like to know." He straightened up and and made his way to the stairs that led off of the ship. Celia followed at his heals. Lao turned around quickly, practically causing Celia to crash into him. " If Yumi finds Zuko, then she is in Zhao's hands, she is offically out of our juristiction, Celia." Lao said sadly.
" Awww, I really wanted to be the one to bring her to the the Fire Lord!" She whined. Lao shook his head and continued down the stairs, Celia followed, muttering about how she could have been promoted.
-----
" Your my little angel."
" WHO SAID THAT?" Yumi screamed, waking up, she was in another strange room. She glanced to her right and a young girl was leaning close to her bedside, she looked about the same age as her. She laid a hand on Yumis' shoulder.
" You should lay back down, you've had a troubeling last couple of days, miss." The girl said, she was quite polite. Yumi did as she was told, she was confused. She didn't want to lay back down, she wanted some answers. Last thing she remembered was almost drowning in the sea after she jumped off the ship. She hoisted herself back up.
" Excuse my rudeness, but where is this?" She looked around at her surroundings. Everything was draped in pale colors, it was a very pleasent room, the sunlight shone in from the open door. The girl picked up a cloth and dipped it in a pan of water, she gave it to Yumi.
" This is Kyoshi Island, one of the fisherman found you out at sea, it's amazing you didn't drown." She explained. Well, that explains that.
" Oh..." Was all Yumi could say.
" My name is Suki, what's yours?" She asked. Yumi hesitated, maybe she shouldn't tell her.
" Arina, my name is Arina." She lied, actually Arina was her deceased aunts' name.
" A pleasure." Suki said, getting up and walking over to a table that had a plate of fruit and bread on it, she picked it up and handed it to Yumi.
" You look hungry, here." She said. Yumi took the plate, and picked up an apple, she ate that quickly and started on a peice of bread, she looked at the bread in her hand and then at her hand.
" My arm, I can...move it? How?" Yumi pumped her arm up and down, making sure that it really was movable. It was, she glanced at Suki, she was smiling.
" Mage Mazaki healed you, not just your broken arm. You were in pretty bad shape, we didn't know if you were going to make it. I'm glad you feel better, Arina." She said to Yumi, after, she got up and made her way to the door, she started to open the door when she turned around and looked at Yumi with a frown.
" Your from the Fire Nation aren't you?" She asked, firmly. Yumi gaped. Busted.
" I..well..." She hung her head. " Yes, I am, how could you tell?" She looked back up at Suki, she had a small grin on her face.
" Your clothes, the red clothing is the Fire Nations' mark." She explained, Yumi looked down at her clothes and sighed." It's alright, and you can tell me your real name. I'm not going to hurt you, I don't think your a spy if that's what your thinking." Suki said. Yumi stared at her for a minute, how did she know all of this?
" Thank you, Suki, my name is Yumi, I'm looking for my family." Yumi muttered rather fast, eating the bread she was holding in her now healed hand.
" Where do you think they are?" She asked. Yumi looked away.
" I don't know...I'm going to someone whose supposed to help me find them." Yumi said smally, picking at the remaining peice of bread.
" Alright, keep your secrets, you can rest for today and I'll find someone to bring you to the Fire Nation borders tomorrow." She told her and then left.
Yumi lay back down on the pillow, her medium-length black hair falling over the pillows' edges. She stared at the ceiling for a while, until thoughts of Aru and her mom started going through her head.
" Where are you, mom?" She turned on her side." You have to be alright, Aru." Her father. She remembered what Celia said back on the boat, she made it appear that he was dead, he can't be, he just can't.
Captian Lao made her think, he was a little odd. He was always strangley cheerful when he was around Yumi and when he addressed her. What was his deal? Yumi shook away her thoughts and pushed the covers off her, she got up and stretched, when she was bringing her arms down she looked at her right arm. It was a slight shade of blue, but it didn't hurt, could it be a bruise? She touched it with her forefingers, it didn't hurt but it looked different. She shrugged and walked out of the small house.
Kyoshi was a beautiful island, indeed, it was full of life and laughter, Yumi watched as children were playing and running around as if they didn't know the ruins the Fire Nation were causing to this world. She looked away from the children and walked so she was out of the town square and entering a forest that seemed to lead to a beach, and the sea after that. She made her way to the beach and sat down on the soft, hot sand. She looked out over the sea and saw nothing, the water barley rippeled. This island must not have a lot of tourists.
Yumi was glad that she was fully healed and was very grateful to the people of Kyoshi, that they were willing to take in someone from the Fire Nation even though they didn't know if they were a fire bender and would hurt them. She wondered to herself if she had better control over fire yet, or if she was still clumsy with it. She stood up and snapped her fingers, a small flame appeared in the palm of her hand. It stayed in the same form, not getting any bigger or smaller. She remembered what her father told her and her brother once.
-----
" Fire is an art, you see. If you were painting a picture you would try your best to make sure it comes out like you envisioned it. The same goes with bending fire, you are producing or manipulating it. If you want the fire to stay under your control, you have to concentrate." Kiyotaka grinned at his two small children as they stood in a line. Aru was setting leaves on fire and not really listening, while Yumi stared up at her father nodding.
-----
" Your right, father, but...I don't have complete control, or even partial control. I hang onto the fire, by the tips of my fingers. It's too hard." Yumi complained, and let the fire die out, completly missing that her bending skills were most likely controlled by her emotions.
Yumi got up from the beach, and patted her clothes, so the sand would fall off. She started to walk back up the path that led to the main village sqaure, when a huge fire ball came hurtleing down towards the beach behind her. Yumi fell onto the stone path, shocked. She got back up and watched as the fire ball hit the sand and started to light the trees that surrounded it on fire.
"...No..." She couldn't let this island burn, they had cared for her when she was injured. If it weren't for the people here in Kyoshi, she would most likley be dead.
The children.
" NO!" She yelled and ran down the stone path until she was feet away from the patch of fire that was slowly consuming the surrounding foliage. She held out her hands and concentrated on making the fire smaller.It started to shrink, but she didn't have near enough strength to make it disappear entirely so she made it move into the water where it was gulped down by waves and the fire storm was put out. Unfortunetly the trees that the fire did hit were almost reduced to cinders. The threat was not yet relized, becuase just then a large, metallic ship came in and docked on the beach, a long bridge pertruded from the front of it lowered down and a man and several Fire Nation soilders walked down it, they strutted up until they were in front of Yumi.
Suddenly, a brigade of green figures emerged from the half-crumpeling forest and attacked the Fire Nation soilders that were standing behind their leader, a man tall with a menacing grin. Yumi could tell that he was going to be worse then Celia. The green firgures turned out to be all woman, girls actually as old as Yumi. She glanced around and one at her right caught her attention, she looked famliar.
It was Suki.
" Suki! Get out of here, these men are Fire Nation soilders! They'll kill you!" Yumi yelled, frightened for her caretakers' survival. Suki grinned and hit one soilder in the head with her fan, he fell back, but just got back up and shot a fire blast at her. She fell down and didn't get back up, it looked as if she was hit unconcious. Evenutally the fighting ceased and the girls were all hunched on the ground or unconcious.
Finally, the leader walked up and eyed Yumi with his hands behind his back. " Ah, so I finally get to meet Kiyotakas' daughter. You can call me Commander Zhao." He said, softly, but a hint of malice in his voice. Yumi took a step back.
" What do you want?"
-----
Oooh, I'm so evil, I gave you a cliffie of some sorts. Yumi just can't keep herself out of trouble cdan she? Please Reveiw! -bows- .